Big Agnes Shovelhead Hooded Jacket

Protection Who’s going to argue with making a good jacket tougher? Big Agnes revamped the Shovelhead with a more durable, 30-denier shell material. After fatbiking in frigid temps near Leadville, Colorado, and thrashing through the woods on winter hikes, our tester still hasn’t damaged the fabric. The DWR-treated nylon also proved more weather-resistant than we expected: “The shell seemed to magically repel melting snow,” she said after subjecting the Shovelhead to a storm. “And it blocked the wind completely, both when I was riding and on a spring climb up Colorado’s 14,196-foot Mt. Yale. I haven’t needed to throw a shell over it yet.” (Testers were wowed by its protection, but it’s not waterproof like the Patagonia, above.)

Warmth The Shovelhead uses vertical baffles to spread body heat more consistently through the 700 DownTek insulation. “The insulated, full-coverage hood was huge in windy, negative temps,” says our tester, whose group got caught in a storm above 12,000 feet. “While everyone else stopped to put on another jacket and face mask, I just hung tight, warm and cozy.” Ding: It doesn’t pack down as small as some similarly warm jackets. m’s XS-XXL, w’s XS-XL